An elongated lighting device that may be bent to adapt to the shape of a structure, for example, is needed for many purposes. For example, such lighting devices may be used as a detail of interior decoration, or as an extension of an otherwise straight line of lights. Elongated lighting devices are usually decorative lights, fixedly installed to a wall, a vertical element or a ceiling of a structure.
Lighting devices typically include three basic components: a body, a light source and a light diffusing cover element. One or more light sources are disposed between the body and the cover element, whereby the lighting device is a closed lighting device. In fixedly installed lighting devices, the body is fastened to a structure, such as a wall, a ceiling, or the like. The light sources between the body and the cover may be, for example, of the type of LED light sources, for which the necessary power supply is provided.
In elongated lighting devices it is particularly advantageous to use several LED light sources due to their small size, such that several of them may be disposed in the lighting device at regular spacing to provide uniform lighting. The use of LED light sources also makes it possible to provide curved lighting devices, because due to the small size of the light sources, the curved shape does not hamper their installation.
The problem in providing curved lighting devices specifically relates to the challenges of manufacturing the cover. The curved cover may be formed by injection moulding, but the moulds used for injection moulding constitute a significant cost factor, especially if a single lighting device or just a few lighting devices are made to order. Even if the curved cover could be cost-effectively manufactured by injection moulding, the body of the lighting device must be precisely adapted to the dimensions of the cover to enable reliable fastening of the body and the cover. Thus, there is need for a structurally simpler lighting device than those of the prior art, that may further be produced more cost-effectively than before.